Best Vietnamese Restaurant St. Louis 2004 - Four Seasons - CLOSED

Enough of the Vietnamese restaurants already! Just kidding. You can never have too many Vietnamese restaurants, and judging by the preponderance of new ones opening around town, the genre's giving the chop-suey biz a run for its noodles. Four Seasons took a chance by opening along a mile-long stretch of South Grand that boasts eight Vietnamese restaurants. On the downside, the menu is huge, and about half the items are Chinese dishes listed by their Vietnamese name. But a close reading of the menu reveals that the Four Seasons folks know what they're doing: Check out the lobster, whole tilapia, clams, crab, eel and catfish that bulk up the seafood section in addition to the typical shrimp. Quail and frog legs are rare finds in most local Vietnamese restaurants. Not here. Chim cut ro ti, three quail split and marinated in coconut juice and spices, steamed, then tossed in more coconut juice, arrives steaming with a luscious pungency, the glistening birds arranged on a bed of fresh cilantro, tomatoes and onions. And do not miss the pho dac biet bon mua -- Four Seasons' beef pho is made with fresh stock that's been cooked down all day from beef bones.